Saturday, January 31, 2009

Our Pet Catfish "Shredder"

This is Shredder. We got him from our pond about three years ago. At that time he was about 3/4 of an inch long. We put him in the 55 gallon fish tank with all of our other fish. Over the next couple of years he grew and ate all of his tank-mates except for our platy. When we first got him we called him "Kitty." This name ceased to be appropriate when we saw how he attacked and ate all of the feeder fish that we gave him. He also eats frogs, worms, and pond fish pellets. He never did eat the platy. The platy died of natural causes and Shredder did not even eat him then. Shredder is currently living with some snails that help keep his tank clean. He is about 13 inches long now! My husband's hand is near him in the top picture for a size reference. We don't know for sure if he'll keep growing or be limited by the size of the tank. Whenever my husband goes near the tank, Shredder comes to the top lookng for food. If anyone else approaches the tank, Shredder hides behind his log. I guess he's my husband's pet!